The world around Feyla blurred, narrowing to a prick point as Sedgewick fell over the edge. Tyrinn staggered back, clutching his wound as he fell to the ground.

Feyla hit the water before she even realized she was running. The world turned a murky green, broken only by the darker blot of Sedgewick's sinking form. Water rushed past her as she swam deeper.

Her hand brushed skin. Feyla latched onto Sedgewick's wrist, tugging him until she could wrap her arms under his. She kicked desperately, nearly sinking deeper under the extra weight. The surface glowed above her like a lighthouse beacon, beckoning them to safety. They were so close! Feyla reached toward the light. Sedgewick slipped, nearly sinking back into the dark, grasping depths seeking to claim him.

No. Feyla glared at the swinging weeds below as if they were hands reaching up to steal him away. You can't have him. Tightening her grip hard enough to bruise, she forced her way to the surface, kicking against the water as if it were an assailant.

Stone brushed her clawing hand. Feyla jerked her head out of the water, slinging her free arm over the side. She dragged Sedgewick up with her, a panicked mantra now running through her mind. Please be okay, please be okay, please be okay...

Tyrinn was gone. A trail of blood droplets led back into the tunnel. But she had more important things to worry about.

Feyla flipped Sedgewick onto his back and brushed his sopping hair out of his face. He'd always been pale but now... now he looked ashen. Panic choked the back of her throat but Feyla shoved it down and leaned over him. His chest was as still as stone and no warm breath comforted her cold, wet cheek. Grasping his wrist, Feyla pressed her fingers against it. Pulse. Pulse. Pulse. The mantra pounded in her head as she searched for a steady beating to match it. Pulse, pulse...

Nothing.

Feyla's breath died in her throat. She wanted to scream. She wanted to cry out as if someone had reached inside her chest and started squeezing the life out of her slowly. Feyla-the-assistant-in-love would have.

But Feyla the healer knew better.

Years of training overruled her frozen fear. Gently pulling open his mouth, Feyla breathed a few breaths into Sedgewick's air-starved lungs before pressing her hands against his chest and pushing down hard. No, no, no, no, no, she thought to the time of her compressions. The moment stretched on like an endless road. Water spurted out of his mouth and nose. She checked him again. No breath. No pulse.

Feyla started the process over again. Deep inside her mind, a voice screamed out. It was at least a minute before she realized she was actually screaming. "Don't you dare, you gates-blasted piece of dragon's dung!" She checked him again. Nothing.

Feyla snapped like a taut rope. Hot tears rippled down her cheeks as she ripped his torn shirt open. Magic surged into her fingertips, coalescing into powerful sparks that jumped from finger to finger. She forced them against his chest and Sedgewick's body jumped like it'd been struck by lightning. "You. Are not. Allowed. TO DIE! Do you hear me, you idiot? I have pet names picked out and we're supposed to go see that stupid play! WAKE UP!" she screamed, shocking him again. "Wake up, wake up, please, just let him wake up..." She pressed her fingers against his wrist one last time, now speaking more to Sedgewick's Creator than himself. "Please, please..."

...pulse... Pulse... Pulse.

Feyla let out a strangled garble. She rolled him onto his side and squeezed his stomach. More water came rushing out, followed by stomach bile. She'd never smelled anything sweeter.

A hacking cough started. Feyla helped Sedgewick lean over as he threw up again, lake water mixing with bile. At long last, he seemed to catch the breath the lake had stolen from his lungs. Sedgewick turned and blinked at her, still sucking down more air.

Feyla's breath caught like she'd been the one drowning. His eyes.

Sedgewick's eyes had always been one of her favorite features, right after his hair. They'd probably been brown at one time, but centuries of using magic had turned them a brilliant orange-amber that she could have stared into all day. But this wasn't his normal bright-eyed gaze. No, now they were practically glowing and his hints of orange had swallowed all other hues.

The first thing Sedgewick was aware of was a shrieking voice in the distance. Moments later, he was leaning over as all his innards rose up in rebellion, forcing a stinging, watery bile out his mouth and nose. In and out. Breathing and breathing. He was breathing. Everything hurt but he. Was. Breathing.

Heat stole into him, crackling beneath his skin like an emerging volcano. It burned through the pain in his chest, the throbbing in his head, the ache in his...everywhere and reduced them to ashes of what he should have been feeling.

Feyla let out a cry. Her arms reached for him but she stopped herself, obviously afraid she'd hurt him. "You nearly missed our date."

"My apologies," he said, coughing once more.

Feyla reached for his hand, only to jerk hers away the moment their fingers touched. "You're burning!" she exclaimed, her chest rising in panic. "Lay back down! I need to—"

Sedgewick shot to his feet, propelled by the strange heat surging through him. His legs quivered but not from a lack of energy.

Feyla jumped up and latched onto his arm like she feared he would collapse at any moment. "Sit back down right now! Your heart stopped for crying out loud!"

Feyla scolded him after that but he didn't hear any of it. His heart had stopped. That meant for a moment he'd been...

Understanding burned into Sedgewick's brain. His fingers twitched with an energy that ached to be used. Staring down into the lake that had nearly been his grave, a familiar orange object caught his eye as it floated on the surface of the water.

Instinct took over. Sedgewick's hat snapped to his hand, a blinding orange glow encircling it like an embrace from a long-lost friend.

Feyla jumped, dropping his arm. "What? How? I thought—"

Sedgewick stroked the brim of his hat, the symbol of his trade. He placed it on his head slowly, deliberately, purposefully. "It's quite simple, my dear." He smirked, closing his glowing orange eyes as his magic return with—and seeking—a vengeance. "It broke before you revived me. Curses only cling to the living."

"Get back here!" Feyla shouted behind him as Sedgewick rushed down the aqueduct tunnels. He reluctantly skidded to a stop, sending Feyla crashing into him. Sedgewick grabbed her shoulders, stopping her.

"What do you think you're doing?" she scolded. "Just because you're not throwing up water doesn't mean you're okay! I need to check your head and your ribs and—" Feyla clenched her fists. "Having your magic back doesn't make you invincible!"

The thrumming in his veins pushed him onward, onward, onward but for her sake, he held still. "Feyla." He stroked her cheek. Her lip quivered in worry...but not just for him. A spark of insecurity lingered in her eyes, even as she tried to snuff it out. Could she really think that after all they'd been through he'd...?

Memories of all the times he'd tried to backtrack jumbled in his head. No, it was an understandable worry. Sedgewick took his hat off and rubbed his thumb along the brim. "This...isn't who I am. But it is what I do. And right now, there's something that I have to finish. Let me do this, Feyla."

Sedgewick let out a breath, the pain in his chest still muted by his revived magic. "Lately, we've made a habit out of you saving me, but you won't need to this time. Tyrinn is crafty and knows the ministry's tricks. If I don't get him now, I might never. And after all," he added, his eyes going soft in the way only she could make then. "The sooner I finish, the sooner we can go home. Together."

A weight seemed to fall off Feyla's shoulders at his last words. "I don't like this. But I won't be able to beat you so I guess I'll have to join you." She stepped closer, placing a hand on his half-bare chest right where his heart was as if feeling for its beating.

Sedgewick's heart picked up its pace. He stepped closer in turn as they stared at each other. "Could—could I kiss you again?"

"I'd like that," she whispered.

Sedgewick leaned in. Feyla's hand left his chest and blocked his mouth.

"Except you just threw up twice so let's take a raincheck."

He snapped out of his daze. "...Right." Sedgewick wiped his mouth and put his hat back on. "Throwing up. Tyrinn. Clearly not the time. Wait here, dearest."

Sedgewick dashed past her, leaving Feyla spinning in his wake. Her mouth opened in disbelief as she stared after him. "I literally just said I was joining you! Just because you have magic doesn't mean you can leave me behind! Get back here, Sedgewick Alverdyne!"

His magic was truly alive now. Orange balls of light swirled around Sedgewick, illuminating the dark tunnels. It wasn't nearly enough. The energy bubbling beneath his skin begged to be used, pleading for a chance to unleash itself.

It would get one soon enough.

Blood droplets led him down the aqueducts until a green glow cut through the black. Sedgewick snuffed out his own.

"...couldn't be avoided, Your Majesty. It was him or me. As you can see, I was lucky to escape with my life." Tyrinn chuckled before wincing in pain and pressing a hand into his wound. "I took no pleasure in—" he snickered, more gently this time. "Better rehearse that last part a bit more, Minister Tyrinn. And Father said Mother's acting lessons were a waste of time..."

"She obviously never taught you lying was unbecoming."

Tyrinn swerved around as Sedgewick's fireball sparked to life. He clutched his wound while morphing his innocent balls of light into a deadly essence flare. "You're surprisingly resilient, old man. Did Feyla fill up another little spell disc after fishing you out of the lake?"

"Something like that." The fire in Sedgewick's hand grew, twisting into a dramatic spiral no spell disc would have imitated before he launched it at Tyrinn.

Tyrinn morphed his magic into a ward. Fire soared out on either side of it but left him unharmed. The mocking on his face burned away, leaving behind a fiery hatred. He shook his head slowly. "This is a trick."

Sedgewick shrugged. "Whatever helps you sleep at night."

And then he let go, finally allowing the full measure of his power to course through him.

Fire spiraled around him like a serpent, striking Tyrinn's wards again and again. The man growled, launching back with his own attack. "I. Won!" he cried out, blasting at Sedgewick.

Sedgewick's ward bounced it off like a rock on a lake. "It appears your victory was premature."

"I planned everything perfectly, analyzed every possible flaw! You should be dead! Why. Won't. You. DIE?!" Tyrinn screamed, a crazed look in his eyes as he blasted Sedgewick with every word.

Sedgewick's ward didn't even flicker.

"Bit of advice. When killing a man with a curse, might want to make sure the woman he's courting isn't a healer." Sedgewick brought his hands together, summoning a magic essence flare thrice the size he usually did. "Well. Would you look at that. It appears not using my magic has left me with a bit of extra build-up."

He launched the spell at Tyrinn. It blasted against his ward, sending him sailing backward as sparks of magic went everywhere. Tyrinn hit the ground, crying out as his wound slammed against it. "...No," he heaved, rising to his feet and igniting his magic again. "No! I am superior, I am better than you!"

"If you're so much better," Sedgewick asked. "Then why did you bother cursing me in the first place?"

Tyrinn let out an animalistic growl and threw himself at Sedgewick, firing spell after spell in a frantic frenzy. Sparks of green and orange crashed together as magic flew everywhere, blurring into flashes of color and blasts of heat. Sedgewick beat Tyrinn back down the tunnel, using the man's blind rage to his advantage.

Until Tyrinn vanished in an illusion.

Sedgewick growled, illuminating the tunnel in the brightest light yet. A shadow brushed across the ground. Sedgewick ran forward, channeling the light into an essence flare and blasting himself off the ground. He collided into Tyrinn, sending them both tumbling across the floor.

A fireball formed in his hand as Sedgewick held it inches from Tyrinn's face. "Yield."

Feet sounded in the tunnel. For a second, Sedgewick thought they might be Mydel's or Zedeya's until he realized they came from the wrong direction.

Tyrinn stared behind Sedgewick and smirked. "Always underestimating me."

A green glow encircled a loose stone in the tunnel. Tyrinn slammed it into Sedgewick's bad back. He cried out as his fireball flickered away and Tyrinn pushed him off. Sedgewick hissed and quickly cushioned his back before jumping up.

Only to be met with a nightmare brought to life.

Tyrinn's rock hit a running Feyla in the leg. She crumpled to the ground before she could subdue him. A sickly green glow materialized in Tyrinn's hand as he held an essence flare up against her back, right where her heart would be. "I'm not going to even bother explaining this one."

The fire in Sedgewick's veins froze over. He stared into Feyla's eyes as his every fear was brought to life and his every dream died. Tyrinn would use her to get to safety and then...

He'd be powerless to save her.

Useless.

Worthless.

Alone.

Feyla mouthed his name, staring at him hard as Tyrinn yanked her off the ground. There was no anger in her gaze, no accusations of how he'd failed her. Fear? Yes. But not the hopeless fear held in his own eyes.

"...you're Sedgewick. You always have a plan." That's what she'd told him. Feyla hadn't surrendered. And Feyla hadn't given up on him.

Sedgewick's fist clenched. His eyes flickered from Feyla's hurt leg to Tyrinn and then back to Feyla. Understanding crossed Feyla's face, a kind that wouldn't be possible if she didn't know him as well as he knew himself. Tyrinn began dragging her away. She shuffled her foot subtly closer to her captor.

Tyrinn smirked. "Winner exists stage— "

Sedgewick nodded once.

Feyla wrapped her foot around Tyrinn and sent the two of them tumbling to the ground. Tyrinn's first blast went wild, hitting the tunnel walk with a hiss. He growled at Feyla and summoned a second one. "Let's see if he stays behind to bandage you up this time."

Tyrinn's magic flew from his hand, fast and accurate.

Sedgewick was more so.

He slid to the ground, entrapping the blast instead of blocking it.

Remembrance passed over Tyrinn's face. Sedgewick smirked and tightened his grip on the spell as the other man's eyes widened in panic. Tyrinn's hand lurched forward to dismiss his spell.

Only for Sedgewick to sling him into the opposite wall seconds before.

Tyrinn crumpled to the ground and Sedgewick dismissed his magic. He snatched Feyla into his arms as they both rose from the ground. Relief flooded through him, strong enough to wash away his feeble attempts at verbalizing it.

"We're okay, we're okay," Feyla murmured in the dark, squeezing him like a vice.

Sedgewick hissed. "Gentle, gentle!" he exclaimed as they shuffled toward Tyrinn. "My magic...isn't blocking the pain anymore..."

Fast-approaching feet finally had enough silence to be heard. A red glow burst into view, bringing Gaiven, Mydel, and Hobrin with it, staffs and knives raised.

Gaiven slid to a stop, his head jerking between the unconscious Tyrinn and the battered duo. "Gates, Sedgewick. How do you always manage things like this?"

Sedgewick squinted, the returning light bringing back his pounding head. "I know what you've been told, Gaiven— "

"Oh, it's okay, Sedgewick, I gave him Tyrinn's notes."

"—But I have...an explanation."

Hobrin called out a hello to Feyla. Mydel started groveling apologies and Gaiven mentioned something about a cuffed Zedeya but none of their words really stuck.

Sedgewick touched his head, a spinning numbness now joining the aching. "I— I think I should sit down for a..."

"Sedgewick!" Feyla cried out as he fainted dead away.

***************************************

Author's Note: I probably could have split this into two but it's the last one so I think it'll be fine. Now all that's left is the epilogue! Thank you so much for reading and supporting this story!